The Land Crumbles/ A New God
The humans flourished, for the ancient human leaders required at least two children from a couple. As well as a growing population, most lived for over 500 years; this is due to the support from Saveran and from the sacred ritual of eating a Mystic Leaf from the Tree of Ostium. One child was to wish life again for the mother, and for the other, the father. The Christians hold a story of Methuselah, a man who's legend says he lived to be 969 in age. This tale is from the story of Veteris. Veteris and his wife had a set of newborn twins, and five days later, they were to take part in the Ritual of the Leaf. The children ate a pair of leaves from the bottommost branch and gained the power that could be used once. War had broken out between the two main villages, Mavros of Night and Aspro of Day, for they disagreed one when to remain awake and when to rest. Photana, agreeing the humans shall stay awake when the sun was out, sided and aided the Aspron army with weapons and armor. She had had asked Pahjae, the forgery god, for the earthly possessions. However, the Mavrosians were not powerless against the godly-backed enemy, for Tenebris, the god of darkness, aided them. This is when a burst of light appeared in the heavens, invisible to a mortal's eye. The god of war, Polemos, had spawned among the gods. Immediately, the spear and flame engraved in his back gleamed gold. You see, Polemos' job was not to promote battles, but to prevent them. He needed to separate the two powerful peoples from each other's sights, so he summoned Terrasiana. Esqua noticed a shift suddenly occurring in the Chosen Planet's land. The landmass was dividing! All at once, the plates of the human sanctuary separated from each other, allowing the water to fill the gaps. Three years after the sacred ritual had taken place for the set of twin boys, this all occurred. When it happened, Veteris' family was swimming in the river in their village, from which they heavily relied on. The mother was at one end of the river, right before the beginning of the delta. She was dipping her feet into the river, relaxing from the hard work of having twins. The father and the children had flowed with the current and were about 30 or so feet from her. Then, the ground shook. The family knew not why, and ran torwards each other at full speed. The ground jerked them again, knocking them to their feet. Hitting her head on a large stone on the rocky beach, she laid there unconscious. Without mercy, the earth shook again and cracked a foot from the toes of the poor mother. It grew wider and wider, and the ill-fated woman was sucked in. Veteris froze in his tracks, for there was no hope of her recovery. Broken and sobbing, the widdowed man sat upon the earth until he heard a voice. "Daddy where did mommy go?" the thinner boy had asked. The glazed eyes of the father were unable to process such an innocent question. Out of anger, he muttered, "The gods have stolen her from us, from our family." Debate broke out in the heavens, as the gods were not sure if they should punish Photana and Tenebris for their uncivilized actions. In need of a proper court, Esqua set up a council for the gods. Placed on this honorable board were Esqua, Saveran, Grymvrell, Terrasiana, Aquanos, Aeroso, and Pyroticus. After long discussion, the penalty was decided: they were to be locked in their palaces, unable to leave for 500 years. However, they must continue to execute out their purpose. Years had passed, and Veteris was still determined to mask their injury; the poor father realized he must continue to raise his sons, for his late wife. He had not lost full faith in the gods, for Saveran continued to support and care for the people. Temples dedicated to Saveran were found in every village, now. The humans relied on her more and more, and Saveran visited them and spoke with her children. When Veteris grew ill and died, the heavier twin granted him life. When this again happened, the lean twin gave up his power to grant the father another revival from death. Veteris lived to be 743 in age, witnessing both his children's deaths. The curse outweighed the blessing, for Veteris died a sad and lonely death. Saveran took pity on the old human's soul, which was as white as Esqua's hair. She discussed holding a special ceremony for the human, one that has never been done before- an induction. The council obliged, for the man truly deserved to be the god of hardships. When he was to be transformed, his orb in the Vine of Mortals was shattered, and the pure white substance was collected. Esqua, the mother goddess, sprinkled her spirit into the mortal soul. A quick flash of light, and the white gaseous material vanished. 500 days passed, and the gods were suddenly blinded by something. Then, standing before them, was Veteris, god of hardships.